A Regency but with Bow Street investigators. This short story attempts to flesh out who they were, their powers of arrest and what they did. In 1800 constables were under the direction of a magistrate in the country many were part time. London had police stations with full time constables, conductors, and principal officers under magistrate's control. Bow Street did work for the government and often sent men, principal officers, conductors, constables, outside London for policing duties. Other London Police stations sent out Principal Officers but not so frequently.
Principal officers were men of experience in crime detection and prevention. The forerunners of the detectives that came later on.